So it’s been a little while hasn’t it? I’m afraid I have to chalk up my lack of activity mainly to being sick of late with a head so full of mucous and fog that I wouldn’t have had much to say that would have been in the least bit intelligible. I’m still sick at the moment though I’m starting to get over it; I just felt that too much time had passed since making a post and it was making me antsy.
I would be lying if I simply blamed some virus for my absence as I also caught a bit of Olympic fever during that final stretch. As they had been taking place in my area I felt it was my duty to be a grouch about the whole affair and reject the whole notion of national pride (as much as I love Canada and British Columbia and wouldn’t really want to live anywhere else) yet thanks to my encounter with the Colbert Report I soon found myself embroiled in the quest for Olympic glory!
CANADA #1!!!
*ahem* Sorry, don’t know where that came from. In any case, we did break the world record for number gold medals won in a single Olympics and that combined with both our hockey teams taking home the gold (you fucking rock Luongo!), hockey being the most important winter sport of course, Canada totally won the 2010 Olympics as far as I’m concerned! 
I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t played any Fallen Earth since my last post, though not for lack of wanting. It’s just that I have been possessed by a demon ever since a friend of mine loaned me a game on my birthday. That game? Assassin’s Creed 2 on the PS3. That demon? Getting 100% sync ratio in the game and every Trophy available, culminating in my first Platinum Trophy.
This friend who loaned me the parkour paradise had also achieved this remarkable (well, maybe not so remarkable) feat and I felt compelled to match him. I’m happy to say that last night (or I suppose I should say: this morning) I achieved perfection in AC2! With that out of the way I feel as though I can move on with my life, and as soon as I get over this cold I will be reviewing this explorer’s wonderland of a game.
For now though I shall take my leave of you and check out the new book update released for LotRO recently which introduced the third volume in the epic story!
I don’t like spam. I don’t think anyone really likes spam. In fact, if I had to choose between starving or settling for spam I would stick with the former. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true but it does apply for comments on this blog. I’d rather have no comments at all rather than a ton of meaningless spam but I have a hard time censoring them sometimes.
I’m big on freedom of speech so pretty well anything you want to say goes on this site. However, I do not consider spam to be speech so much as textual diarrhea and as such have no ethical qualms when it comes to trashing such comments. Unfortunately there is a definite possibility with regard to perfectly valid comments, generally those giving out general praise or criticism, falling prey to this systematic quelling of spam and that does bother me a great deal.
This blog is not supported in any way by advertising, nor does it avail itself of free hosting; I do this for fun, not profit (yet at a cost to myself), and part of the fun for me is reading and responding to what few comments visitors to my dungeons leave in their wake. I appreciate the effort it takes to respond to one of my posts whether you enjoyed it or found issue with it because it is far easier to simply move on without leaving your mark.
So, in the interest of better differentiation between spam and proper human comments I would ask that if you wish to make a comment on an article(s) please be sure to reference the content of the post in some way. It doesn’t have to be anything major (but try something other than the post’s title for obvious reasons), just make mention of what you liked/hated because most spam comments make use of generic blanket statements. This is just a general rule to follow to make sure your comments don’t find their way into the trash, though really any attempt to humanize your comments should suffice.
In the interest of keeping things on-topic I would also appreciate it if you could send any questions or comments regarding my site’s functionality (or lack thereof) to my email at alcasm@deeplydelvingdungeons.com as opposed to commenting on any one article. I do take these technical queries into consideration and as soon as I stop being a lazy bastard I will do my best to see to them (one of these days I’ll look into what’s buggering up my RSS feed in Google Chrome).
I hate having to lay things out like this because, as I stated earlier, I’m big on free speech. But I don’t like spam!
Seriously, I don't like it!
Or rather, he’s on the brink of death, and by he I mean my computer. It’s been running like crap for a while now, though strangely enough it’s been relatively well behaved when playing games, but I use it for more than that and I am frankly fed up. So, I am currently in the process of backing up important data before formatting. Unfortunately I have been rather lazy when it came to sorting my files lately so it’s taking me a bit of time to get things organized for hard back-ups.
I only mention this because it means I probably won’t be able to update this blog for at least a day or two, assuming I don’t run into any serious problems along the way. I’m sure you’ll survive.
Well, the final part of my review of Mass Effect 2 is being put off until tomorrow unfortunately as a friend of mine managed to somehow convince me to shell out the money for Star Trek Online, which I had originally intended to completely ignore for the most part. All’s fair in gaming and temptation though as I managed to get him to lust after ME2 and that carries a heftier price tag [inner voice: yet no monthly fees] (shut up you!). I must admit that it was probably Mass Effect’s glorious space epic that really pushed me over the brink and though I know that there won’t be much in the way of exploration in STO (though there bloody well should be tons of exploring to do in a Trek game!) I’m still hoping it can scratch that space adventure itch I am currently trying to soothe.
With this I think I can definitely say that this blog is most definitely NOT LotRO-centric (though to be perfectly honest, it never really was) and I think I can live with that just fine. I’d much rather write about gaming in general than focus on a singular experience and not having to follow any particular theme (outside of trying to break things down as much as possible… hey, that’s kinda like delving!) makes this far more enjoyable and therefore makes me far more likely to write.
Of late I have been more eager to put up posts on this site, though my tendency to write lengthy articles puts me off occasionally, and I hope to keep this newfound vigour going for some time. So, expect to see the final part of my Mass Effect 2 review tomorrow and also expect to see my impressions on Star Trek Online soon as well.
I’m sure I’ll get back to Dragon Age: Origins eventually, it’s only been two months after all…
Ah, you just gotta love blogging promises and the painful inevitability of their lack of fulfillment. Join me won’t you as this blog becomes yet another cliche in the sea of cliches that is the inactive blogocube. Of course, this sequel just wouldn’t be complete without another rote promise to write more often, only I’m going to give it a bit of a twist by getting it out of the way right now; M. Knight Shamanamanalan would be proud.
I do hereby most solemny swear and such to not, you know, like, stop writing for a while and stuff so, yeah.
Okay then, now with that most dignified oath out of the way we can proceed into the real substance of the adventure. Guess I may as well start off by saying what I’ve been up to in the world of gaming and cinema of late. I still have yet to beat Dragon Age: Origins, in fact, I’m not much further now than I was when I talked about it in my last post. This is not because I don’t like the game or anything, far from it, as far as I’m concerned DA:O was the best game of 2009. No, the reason I haven’t given myself a chance to complete this epic adventure is manyfold but it all boils down to being terribly distracted.
Continue reading ‘Son of Lazy S.O.B.’
Which would explain why I haven’t written anything for over a month now. For some reason I just haven’t been able to motivate myself to write for some time, though lately I have been writing a great deal, just not on here. I would write something worthwhile right now but it’s late and the only reason I’m writing this waste of a post is because this is the first time I’ve actually logged in to my site in ages and I figured I should do something with it! Also, I’m in the middle of testing some web applications that aren’t specifically for this site (but I need somewhere I can stress test them with some other interested parties and this is as good a place as any really) so don’t be alarmed if something screwy happens, things will be back to normal soon.
As for things I want to write about, obviously I will continue my design articles, but I’ll probably be writing about Dragon Age: Origins first. Problem is, I still have to beat it. Good lord this game is long! And awesome. But long… and awesome. As a little miniview I would have to say that this is the best RPG I have played since Baldur’s Gate 2 and is without a doubt my Game of the Year. I have a lot more to say than that but trust me when I say that if you love RPGs you need to buy this game, so long as you’re not a pussy… This game is hard!
Can’t really think of much else in my current sleep-deprived state other than to say I will also be commenting on Brütal Legend, the only other game I’ve played recently besides Dragon Age and LotRO, but its been some time since that one came out so I’d rather talk about Dragon Age first. Anyways, you’ll be hearing from me soon! Unless of course I’m not actually typing all this and it’s just a dream and as soon as I publish this post I will awaken in a plague-ridden hellscape wherein the only solace that can be found exists in one’s own mind. I’d give it a 50/50 chance.
It’s been a while hasn’t it? Yeah, sorry about that. I was having problems making updates and couldn’t even view the site for a little while. Those problems stopped some time ago but I just kind of lost some of the fire I suppose. I’ve had plenty that I wanted to write about but just couldn’t bring myself to type. I’m sure many will sympathize with me on this. The other big reason for my absence is a resurgence of my interest in LotRO, but that’s something I’ll get to in a bit.
Before my impromptu review of The Goods I promised more regular posting and while I now know better than to make such a promise it is still something I hope to follow through on. The other thing I promised was actually a series of things in the form of various reviews and articles. I will still be making the Armchair Designer posts as I still feel they’re relevant, especially considering the recent announcement of LotRO’s upcoming digital expansion, the Siege of Mirkwood. The reviews, on the other hand, will be condensed and included in the second half of this post as opposed to devoting full posts to them. This is for many reasons, chief among them being my desire to just get them over with. Also, the webcomic I hinted at is most definitely not happening as I need quite some time to work off my rustiness before I can draw with any quality or speed. I’m just not feeling the story I had planned either.
But enough about that, on to happier and more site appropriate news!
I had intended Deeply Delving Dungeons to be focused on MMO gaming and roleplaying from the onset and I have so far failed in that regard. No biggie, it was never my intent to focus solely on those aspects, but it was still a central element of the site’s theme. Even before I broke out of my writer’s laze (copyright: Kevin Smith) I knew this had to change but I also knew I didn’t really have the fortitude to run a kinship in LotRO like I had planned alongside doing this site and living my life in general. Fortunately, a good friend of mine in-game had recently joined an exceptional kinship that basically had everything I wanted, freeing myself up to just enjoy the game. And so I joined the Sons of Numenor on Landroval server! I have since occupied much of my time with my new friends and look forward to telling many stories about our exploits on here in the future.
Continue reading ‘A Much Belated (And Condensed) Post’
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and for that I feel I must apologize to what few readers I have (or had as the case may be) for my unexplained absence. For the past two weeks I have been engaged in renovations all around and outside my house and have simply been too tired to be bothered with writing or even playing games for that matter. I can’t say it was all toil however as I uncovered an ancient, inoperative computer tower that had been hiding away in the garage for ages and as someone who spends a lot of time working with computers there is no therapy quite so soothing as beating the ever-living hell out of a facsimile for the beastly rig that has tormented me for so long. I would have made a post about this sooner but before I had little else to say than that and I prefer posts with more meat on them. Also, for some reason Twitter hasn’t been letting me update my status which is only appropriate considering I have only recently given in to this insipid technology’s call and it wouldn’t make sense for it to work for me now that I have need of it now would it? Well, fortunately the renovations are at an end and I’m going to try to step things up a notch as far as posting frequency goes from now on.
As I stated before, I don’t want to simply update my status on here and so this is where the portents come in to play. I have a few reviews coming soon, one of which will be Overlord 2 with which I have been having an extremely hard time motivating myself to finish so you can guess how well that reflects on it, unfortunate considering my love for the first Overlord. Also, before renovations hit full swing I finished up Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and as it winded down I started playing the recent XBLA title Shadow Complex so look out for those two reviews as well. Not game related but no matter how exhausted I may have been I had to make time to see District 9 which was phenome– I mean, which you’ll be able to look forward to my reviewing soon as well.
Aside from that I am looking forward to getting back into LotRO as I have been away from that at least as long as I have been away from this site. I have a few posts lined up where I assume my place in the Designer’s Armchair for the first in what I hope will be a long running series of articles where I let you know how I would have done things differently without having to worry about losing my job for doing so. I’ll start with a few sessions regarding some of LotRO’s mechanics such as radiance, crafting, questing, legendary items, and even some of the little things I would like to see in the game. I will also start to showcase some of my characters and the kinship I lead, the Delving Dungeon Company, and will also be working on adding a kinship site to this one for any interested in joining up.
Apart from that there may be one more special feature I will also be bringing to Deeply Delving Dungeons that hinges upon my ability to draw with any speed. Yes, I will be trying to bring yet another webcomic to the clogged tubes of the internets, keyword: trying. I was inspired to do so by watching copious amounts of the Daily Show as well as by getting hooked on Heroes after having been encouraged to watch it by a friend for over a year. Will it be worth your time? I’m doubtful, not being much of an artist and not really planning to do a comedic comic, but I’ll give it a shot anyways.
Anyways, I hope that gives you something to look forward to on this site, and would like to encourage any readers to comment on the posts as I do love to have a little back-and-forth.
I’m not a big fan of social networking as a rule. It’s not that I have anything against being social or even being social over the internet, it’s just that most people seem to boil that interaction down into the number of people they have on their friend lists and end up caring little for the quality of the interaction itself. This behaviour seems to be embodied within Twitter, made even worse by the feeble attempts of the tight-ass generation trying to be hip by using Twitter during sessions of Congress or by turning CNN into nothing more than a glorified social networking webshow. So I tend to avoid these things like the plague.
However, I am not one to ignore a useful tool, even if its typical application is so repulsive to me. I hate Apple with a passion, wishing to do their chic geek tech what Louis C.K. wants to do to pretentious coffee shop purveyors’ bagels, but I still own and use an iPod. It’s just handy to have, though I am not part of the Apple cult.
And so I must announce that I am going to start using Twitter. But not to let people know what is going on in my life (woke up; ate; played LotRO; ate; went to bed; repeat) but rather to provide an easy way to track new posts. I don’t know how effective it will be for that but I have seen others use it for that purpose so I figured what the hell. Who knows, it might help to generate some traffic as well and I’m always interested in discussing the topics I bring up in here with others (and hopefully with those of differing opinion).
So feel free to follow me on Twitter.
Username: Elandarex
Real Name: Alexander Smith
Welcome to the seminal post on this, the newest addition to the ever overcrowded blogging world, Deeply Delving Dungeons dot com. Why add to the overpopulation of blogs when so many out there are left wanting for the hits they need to survive in this anarchic hell-scape we call the Internet, you ask? Well, surely there must be some out there with even less of a life than myself that can ponder such deeply profound questions but not I for I could not begin to tell you why I find myself further polluting the web with my nonsensical drivel. How about this: it came to me in a dream! Yeah, that sounds compelling; it came to me in a dream as a trio of Christopher Walkens came down from on high with a sacred mission from Joe Pesci: I was to pontificate about the myriad aspects of games and game design from the safety of my computer chair so that in time, when all the stars had aligned, and the Anti-Walken came to this Earth, he would visit my site and rather than usher in the Apescilypse he would, in all his dark majesty, troll my site with inane, racially insensitive comments and thus would the world be saved.
On second thought, it’s probably just because I have a massive ego. Yeah, just forget about all that dream nonsense, it’s my ego that’s responsible for the existence of this blog. But who is this I that I speak of? My given name (that being the name that I just gave to myself because I like the sound of it) is Alcasm, though my actual name is Alexander Smith. I am an unprofessional writer in my early twenties with a background in game design and game programming, specifically visual programming. I was not a gamer from a young age and was instead exposed to the joys of sitting motionless in front of a television for hours on end when Final Fantasy VII hit the original Playstation. Even then I was more interested in paleontology than gaming and it wasn’t until I played Baldur’s Gate 2 that gaming became my one and only desire. This is likely due to my history playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition and the illusion of roleplaying that game created. Since then I have been obsessed with RPGs whether they be prefixed with a C or a J. But in this I have a confession to make.
I HATE RPGs! No, it’s not because I don’t enjoy them, because I do. I’m not so masochistic as to play a game I don’t like because I get off on the pain. I watch B-Movies for that fix. But this leads me into another confession: despite playing through countless MMORPGs, I have not, until recently, surpassed level 33 (arbitrary as a number, I know, but for those unfamiliar with the genre that’s usually only midway through the game and prior to any major character enhancements such as mounts), constantly giving up on one game then moving onto another only to experience the same dissatisfaction I had felt previously.
Continue reading ‘Confessions from a Cynical Roleplayer’
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